This issue has the "big" conclusion to the 67 part "Face the Face" story that's been running through "Batman" and "Detective" since the One Year Later gimmick hit. The big shocker (and in NO way would this be considered a spoiler) is ...wait for it.....


Spoiler #1- Harvey Dent is Two-Face again.


Wow! You've got to be kidding me!! I mean, what's next? Jervis Tetch starts using HATS to control people's minds? Maybe Oswald Cobblepot could attack someone with an umbrella-themed weapon?! This type of realization really DOES change everything!!

There are a few significant plot points aside from the Two-Face stuff. Spoiler #2: The Shark is the new crime boss of Gotham City, running things while incarcerated in Arkham. Umm..the Shark?! Is this the guy who used to fight Aquaman and Green Lantern and tried to boink Wonder Woman? The evolved ocean shark with telekinesis and stuff? When did he ever hang around Gotham City? He appears identical to previous crime boss, Black Mask. But whereas Black Mask was BLACK or grey...the Shark is white. We'll see what happens.

Spoiler #3 could actually be considered unexpected. Bruce Wayne decides to adopt Tim Drake as his son. The old "ward" situation is no longer relevant in today's society. Okay, so NOW it's okay to use the "If Bruce is Batman, then Tim must be Robin" logic. It wasn't okay to use that logic two years ago (hiya, "Identity Crisis").

With all these "shocking changes" out of the way, it looks like now we can finally get back to Batman just hanging out in the cave and fighting villains. Since I've been following Batman intensely since about 1988, my favorite phase was around 1995-1996, when the Dynamic Duo just fought the villain of the month. Before and after that, there was usually some "landmark crossover event"-- like "Death in the Family", the intro of Tim Drake, the whole Knightfall thing, Contagion, Cataclysym, Aftershock, No Man's Land, Bruce Wayne: Murderer, WarGames and then the Crisis/One Year Later junk. Batman works best when things are at a quiet status quo. Hopefully we're at another status quo for awhile. That's what made the animated series interesting, so let's see if it works for the comics.